Looks Before Principles

Yi's words were a little hurtful.

But Chen Fan had to admit that it was indeed the truth.

For now, this civilization ruled by gods that he found himself in had little besides its human resources worth praising.

But...

Whether in the residential district or the Main Church, he had not seen anything resembling an industrial assembly line!

Surely these so-called gods were not planning to turn them into canned meat, were they?

Chen Fan was instantly amused by his own bizarre thought.

Fuck, the pressure he had been under lately was really too much. He was even coming up with such grotesque ideas.

But this time, Yi unusually offered no opinion.

Unaccustomed to the silence in his mind, Chen Fan suddenly realized something.

He swallowed hard.

There couldn't really be Interstellar Civilizations like that, could there?

There indeed were.

The database recorded over a hundred such Interstellar Civilizations.

How could that be...

For a moment, Chen Fan found it difficult to understand such a practice.

Most of those Interstellar Civilizations lived on planets with extreme resource scarcity. To ensure that resources were not wasted, even the bodies of their own kind were included on the menu.

Chen Fan took a deep breath. After calming the turmoil in his heart, he rose from his chair.

Across from him, Gao Yuan was tenderly stroking the pages of the book, quietly reciting specific prayers under his breath.

Holy shit...

Could that absurd method actually work?

Chen Fan shuddered and broke the strange silence. "Old Gao."

"I'm done reading. Let's go."

Gao Yuan looked up, his eyes unfocused as he stared at Chen Fan.

A moment later, his gaze focused again.

"You finished reading?"

"Y-you finished every book in this entire library?!"

Gao Yuan stared at the calm Chen Fan with a look of utter shock.

"Of course."

Chen Fan smiled and nodded.

The Intelligent Terminal was in his hands, so if the Intelligent Terminal had finished reading, that meant he had finished reading.

Perfectly reasonable.

"Hiss..."

Gao Yuan sucked in a sharp breath.

Wasn't Chen Fan supposed to have amnesia?

Wasn't he supposed to ask Gao Yuan about the relevant theological knowledge?

After this trip to the library, Gao Yuan even suspected that Chen Fan's theological knowledge now far surpassed his own!

Gao Yuan felt like nothing more than a heartless "door-opening machine"—his main task had been to scan his face and let Chen Fan into the library.

He pointed at the still-open Varrela Chronicle on the table and asked unwillingly, "Is there really nothing you want to ask?"

Chen Fan's eyes flickered.

Gao Yuan's question had hit the nail on the head.

He could not waste this information dispenser that automatically spat out intelligence.

The church library truly had no clear records, but that did not mean no related information circulated among the people!

"There is indeed something I want to ask you."

He raised his head and casually swept his gaze around the room.

When he saw the statue of the Goddess hanging on the wall, Chen Fan swallowed the words at his lips. "Let's talk about it later."

"Let's leave the Main Church first."

Gao Yuan stared blankly at Chen Fan.

After a round of contemplation no outsider could glimpse, he suddenly understood. "I get it!"

"Fine, we'll do as you say. We'll leave the Main Church first, then talk."

Chen Fan:?

What did you get this time?

After the earlier book-stroking incident, Chen Fan had developed a heartfelt concern for Gao Yuan's thought process.

"..."

Chen Fan opened his mouth, but for a moment, he had no idea where to begin. He could only wave his hand. "Let's go, let's go..."

When they left the library, the Black Robe Priests searched the two God Chosen as usual.

This was to prevent anyone from taking books from the library outside the church and causing knowledge to leak out.

A leak of knowledge was a minor matter. The real problem would be if someone discovered the truth the church had deliberately concealed!

Therefore, those Black Robe Priests were especially thorough during their search.

Although Gao Yuan's face was filled with displeasure, constrained by church rules, he could only endure the priests' highly invasive movements.

"God Chosen Esteemed One, you may leave now."

A Black Robe Priest bent at the waist and spoke to Gao Yuan in a hoarse voice.

Gao Yuan did not respond. He merely left the library with a cold expression.

As for Chen Fan...

Having been searched by security personnel countless times in his previous life, he naturally felt no resistance.

To avoid causing trouble, he even actively cooperated with the Black Robe Priests' body search.

This truly shocked the Black Robe Priests, who had been doing thankless work while holding in a bellyful of anger.

Sure enough, even their manner of speaking became much friendlier. "Honored God Chosen Esteemed One, may the Lord be with you."

After leaving the library, Chen Fan quickened his pace and caught up with Gao Yuan.

The Main Church hall.

More precisely, the East Main Church hall.

Having obtained electronic copies of the library's entire collection, Chen Fan had basically figured out the layout and functions of the four Main Churches.

The East Main Church was equivalent to an office area for clergy.

The West Main Church was mainly used for various prayer rituals.

The South Main Church was where divine blessings were administered. In Chen Fan's eyes, it was an "evil" human modification laboratory.

The North Main Church...

The library's texts contained almost no substantive records about it. All he knew was that it was the Pope's residence.

As for the Pope himself...

How dare they!

Was that someone the texts could casually discuss?!

Just as Chen Fan was diligently absorbing all sorts of basic information purified and refined by Yi, a small black figure abruptly appeared in front of him.

Thud.

Without any surprise, Chen Fan, immersed in his studies, collided with that black figure.

"Ow..."

Along with a soft impact, a somewhat familiar cry came from in front of him.

"Hiss..."

Caught off guard, Chen Fan staggered back several steps before finally steadying himself.

As for that small black figure...

He...

No, she was already sitting on the ground. The black hood concealing her face had been thrown back, revealing the delicate features beneath.

Her lively right eye, petite and elegant nose, rosy lips...

Her slightly tousled silver hair fell along either side of her pale cheeks, making the female priest appear all the more delicate.

Unlike the few priests Chen Fan had met before, this Black Robe Priest had not undergone much facial mechanization modification—only part of her left cheek and left eye had been turned mechanical, while the rest remained flesh and blood.

Her exquisite features and the Mechanical Prosthetics gleaming with silvery metallic luster combined to create a powerful contrast that radiated from within.

That contrast formed a deadly attraction—who could refuse a cyber beauty with a Mechanical Eye?

At that moment, Chen Fan suddenly realized something.

It turned out that he did not reject Human Body Mechanization Modification.

What he rejected were modifications that looked unpleasant—or, to put it bluntly, downright ugly.

His principles simply followed his taste in faces.